Impact of ground handling strike less than feared

Six-hour walkout by GlobeGround and Acciona / Only 32 of the 180 flights scheduled between 4 a.m. and 10 a.m. had to be cancelled / Occasional delays possible throughout the day

The six-hour strike by ground handling services at Berlin Airports today, Thursday, caused 20 flights to be cancelled in Schoenefeld and 12 in Tegel. Occasional delays are expected throughout the day.

“The impact of the strike is much less than feared”, said Ralf Kunkel, Press Officer of Berlin Airports. “Detailed preparations and the good cooperation of the airlines, ground handling services and Berlin Airports in advance have paid off.”

The airlines, ground handling services and Berlin Airports had undertaken every effort to prepare for the feared strike, in order to limit the impact on passengers:

Ground handling services provider GlobeGround set up its own crisis centre to respond rapidly and unbureaucratically to the strike. Numerous ground handling employees turned up for work voluntarily, despite having the day off

Many airlines and Berlin Airports mobilised additional staff to help handle incoming passengers

During the strike, i.e. between 4 a.m. and 10 a.m., several announcements were made to inform passengers about the strike and its impact.

Passengers should visit the home page of Berlin Airports at www.berlin-airport.de, contact the call centre of Berlin Airports on +49 (0)180 500 0186 (€0.14/min. from a German landline) or their airline/tour operator well before departure to find out if and how the strike will affect their flight.